Locomotive driving-box.



C. F. PRESCOTT.

l f Loomonvs DRIVING B0X.

`MPLICATION FILED SJEPTV.Y20. 1916.

' :sainsatented Marv. 20, 1917.

SHEET l frs UNITED STATES PA TENT OFFICE.

CHARLES F. PRESCOTT, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIG NOR 0F ONE-HALF T0 WILLIAM A. SELTS, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

LOCOMOTIIVE DRIVING-BOX.

Application ledseptember 20, 1916.

To all whom it may Concern.'

Be itknown that I, Cuxnnes F. lnlcsccrrl. a citizen 'of the l'nited States, and a resi- .'dent of the citj' of New York, borough of locomotives.

Among -the objects of the invention is to provide: journal box made of a plurality of relatively nlovable parts. certain of said parts bein,f r parallel to each other and inorable toward each other automatically or otherwise to take up for wear at the front,

and back portions of the axle.

Anotler object of the invention is to providen journal box or bearing for a rotating axle. havingr separable and interchangeable brasscs for the front and rear portions of tl axle to take up for the wear incident to the thrust and the pull of'the engine piston.

further object of the invention is to provide a journal box of the character set forth adapted to be inspected or renewed and parts sul'istgitutcd or interi-hanged without removing the wheels or disturbingthe box itself.

A still further object is to provide .a locomotivejonrnal bearing whose front and rearbearingr surfaces are centrall)7 disposed vertically= wliereby uniformity of wear is assured.l

With the foregoingr and other objects in view the. invention consists in the arrange ment and ,combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed.y and while the invention-is not restricted to the exact details of ,construction disclosed or suggeste-d herein, still for the purpose of illustrating` a prae tical embodiment thereof, reference is had t-o the accompanying `dlrawin,f ;s, in which like reference characters designate the same partsin the several views, and in which Figure 1 is an end elevation of a preferred emliodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a Vertical transverse section of the same; j

Fi 3 is a vertical longitudinal section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Specicationof LettersPatent.

`comj'n'isingy thre( Patented Mar. 20, 1917.

serial No. 111,154.

Fig. 4 is a pernj'iective view of the crown pieceg. and j Fig. 5 is a silniiar view of one of the front and back pieces or cheek plates.

Referring now more particularly to the drawinfrs l shoe a ljournal box structure main parts. namely, a crown piece l() and front and rear cheek plates 1l and 15. The lcheek plates are shown as being of an approximatelyY reef tangular `form anrl substantially llat "in general configuration. 'l`hc v are ai apted to operate in vertical planes parallel to each other directl \v in front ind at the rear of the axle 12-3. The el'l'ectiul centers of these cheek plates vertically considered lie in a plane coincidingl iijth the axis of the axle.

The crown picc; is longitudinally recessed at 14 alongy its nl der surface to receive and retain the main oad supporting brass 15. This brass has enilwise slidingr fit in the re cess 14 and has di 'ect contact with the upper portions of the zxle. Any suitable means majY be provided to retain the brassin the "recess ll except .vhen it is intended to be removed or intere iangrcd. For this purpose, l indicate a set seew 16 acting dmvnwardly through the crown piece into contact with the top of the briss. .This crown piece, ,as heretofore, is adapted 'to receive thel Sp1-'1145;4 saddle. (not sbonn). The row provided along;r its front and rearfaees Wit any suitable number or design of lugs-17,'.

`sho'wn herein as of c vlindrieal form and' projectin;r for\\'ardly and rear.\\'ardly opposite direction fiom each other on opposite sides of the crown piece. The faces 18 of the crown piece fiom which the lugs 17 pro- 'ject are substantially flat and disposed in parallel vertical planes. Those portions 19 of the crown pier( between the recess 14and the lower portions of thc plane faces 18 are plane and lie in whe saine horizontal plane at right angles lo the vertical faces just mentioned.

The check platrs 1l and 12 are or may be substantially alike and a specific description of one. and i lustration.thereof in Fig. may be understood as being applicable to both. Fig. 5 shows the inner faeejof the cheek plate, the same beinlgr providerlwith a. longitudinal reess 20 of any desi'ie'clform in transverse section, the saine beiifgI adaptl ed to receive a lateral lbrass 21. From what has beeiistated above, it will be noted that I provide aycommodation for two of these lateral brasses which are designed to take the direct bearing thrust or pull 0n the front and rear faces of the` ,axle incident to the pull and thrust of the engine piston, and thereby I overcomeeffectively a very common source of trouble and expense in the maintenance of lo'coi'n'otive journal boxes. The upper end of each cheek plate is prrr vided with a hole 22 complemental to the eration with the alxle.

forni oi the lug 17 adapted to be received therein with a sliding fit. Just below the hole 22 is formed an inwardly projecting shoulder 23, the upper face of which lies in a horizontal plane and takes directly under the adjacent portion or face 19 of the crown piece against which it bears. It will be noted. that each cheek plate, so faras the lug 17 andcopcrating faces 19 and 23 are concerned, is freely slidable inwardly toward the axle,4 but is held from downward niovement by thc lug and from upward movement androtation around the lug by means of the cooperating faces and shoulders 19 and 23.

Each lateral brass 2l is provided with a concave active bearing face iii direct cop The other faces ai'e so formed' or related to one another as to provide a slidingr fit in the recess 2O of the adj aceiitsupportingr cheek plate.

ance provided between each cheek plateand the crown piece providing 'for freedom of n'ioveinent inwardly toward theixle vto compensate for the wear that naturally takes place in the lateral brass carried thoreby. Any suitable means may -be provided to adjust the cheek Vplates inwardly toward eacirsother or toward the center of the axle and when so much of the lateral brasses is worn away as to cause the cheek plates to abut against thecrown piece, I provide for the insertion of one or more sliiins 2 4 between the lateral brasses and the bottoms of the recess 20 so that practically all of the lateral brasses may be used up before they are scrapped. The lateral brasses 21 may easily be withdrawn endwise for interchange or replacement, but are adapted to be held normally in operative position .by any suitable means, such as clips 3() locked in place at the ends of the cheek plates by means of set screwswl or their equivalent.

llie cl'i'eelc plates are provided on their inner faces a djaeent their lower edges with recesses or `grooves 25 to receive the ribs 26 of I a-lirbrfica-nt cellar 27 adapted to' slide longitudinally of the axle into the grooves 25 whereby 'the cellar is supported. The cellai-1s held 'l iii endwise displacement ljy any suitable '-'rm of locking bolt 28 acting I"through registering .lugs or ears 29. The

` clearance above Areferred to providing for As shown,4 however, Aplainly in Figi-..2 there is a clear-A a wedge 32 tapered upwardly toward its upper end and forced upwardly at all times by means of a spring 33..lo`cated adjacent the rear portion of the bex. A companion wedge 3.4: having less taper than the main wedge 32 ali/d with its smaller end projected downwardly lies between the main wedge and the cheek plate 12. By virtue of this construction of automatic adjusting means, the cheek plates and lateral brasses carried thereby are always maintained in. proper bearing contact with the sides of 4tli'e axle and resist the thrust and pull of thai-engine piston without shock or vibration. The automatic adjusting means also insures that there will be no excessive.'bindingr 'action duc to vertical vibration of the journal box,

The construction of the journal box shown herein, in which there are relaitivel'y movable parts, makes it feasible andfpiactical for certain of the parts to be' `pei"odjcally adjusted as for example, by,;iiiser,t`ing spacers or liners between the cheek plates and the parts next within them. These liners may be withdrawn from time to time to permit the setting up or adjusting of ,the cheek plates as may be desired. Since the adjustment or interchange of the journal box or its parts may be effected without removing the wheels from the engine. l provide in this construction a means whereby any lateral motion or slack between the wheel hub'sand the boxes may be taken up b v simply removing' .fthe boxand pouring Babbitt or other; soft Ir`IetaI....

liners on the faces ,f;if"tlie box which-'bear' against the wheel liu,b j

Intlie driving.' box construction as here- 'tofore ordiiii'irily used, the bearing -surface extends', down only to the horizontal plane eoiflifcidiiig with the Center of the j ournal. lzi'ritlie modern high powered ld`c0- inotiiaj: the' piston pulls and thrusts are so enormous leoiiip'ared to the weightsupported oli/ thc main supporting brass that the f ielp-iently rises from the journaly owing-to the fact that the surfaces to resist-'the thrusts and pulls are at an angle tothe ine f pull and thrust. considerably more Afor less than -a= ight angle. In this coiistructiomhow- Sniffer; it will be noted that tli .lateral lbrsses extend well below the hori lital plane of t ei axis of the journal wlieretiyit .is im# p ss'ible for the bearing surfacesto rise or rifde up over the journal because of theenornjoiis thrust or'pull. It will be noted also that there is a decided ad 'antage resulting from the increase 'of bearing surface over ordinary journal boxes. In other words, the wear is distributed over so much increased area that the cutting or excessive wear upon any particular partof the bearixng,r will be reduced to a`minimum, i

The construction and relative disposition of the bearing parts of my improved journal box provide that the journal will be substantially locked in place with respect to the lubricant cellar 'arried b v the lower edges ot' the-cheek plates. In other words, in the event of derailment of the locomotive, it' is impossible in this construction for the journal to ,drop down a way from the crown piece and iilestro)7 the lubricant cellar, a matterof considerable inportance in practice.

I claimc e l. In arlocornotive journal box, the combination of a rigid trame` a crown ipiece, a pair of front and rcar cheek plates, connecting means between the front and rear faces ofthe crown piece and the upper edges of the eheeleplates serringrto holdthe check plates at a constant elevation and prevent tilting thereof with respect to the axis of the journal. but permitting the check plates to slide toward each other` the inner faces of said crown piece vand cheek plates having recesses exten( ing,r longitudinally of the journal,` a series )t removable and lnterchaligeable bearing' brasses slidably ttecl in said recesses, an;l automatic means acting between the frame and the cheek plates to i 3. In a locomotive journal box, a-crown ]iit,('wlia1\'i11g a longitudinal recess in its 11nder side to receive a brass and lugsprojectin from its opposite si les,y two cheek pieces eac 1 having r an opening adjacent its upper end to receive a luggot' the crown piece, a longitudinal sl;` :lder below ythe opening and extendin r ui'iotr .nd en, agingr the lower faee of the crown piece, and a longitudinal groove below the shouhlei to receive a` brass. and means for forcing thecheek pieces toward each other. f

CHARLES F. PRESCOTT. 

